"Always on Top"

I've been using Macs for a very long time and i'm not aware of any "always on top" option for any app. Exactly what's not working and how do you expect it to work? BTW, most of us can read the default 10 point text w/o any difficulty, so posting in that large size serves no useful purpose except to make it almost unreadable.

Thanks for clarifying. Just checked VLC 1.1.12 and I'm not seeing that preference option. For me, all I do is resize the various app windows to fit on my 27" display, never using any in full screen mode. Hopefully, someone who uses the video players extensively can pop in an lend a hand.

That's the default behavior. AFAIK, the only way a window from another app disappears is if I OPTION-click on another app's window. I have TextEdit, Safari, iTunes, and Eudora windows up and visible. Clicking on any of those just brings it to the front, leaving the others visible, but not in focus. Create a new admin user account, log into it, and see if your problem persists.

Since the issue is specific to your original user account, you can proceed in two ways. One is to log into your new account, make a list of the preference files (plists) located in /username/Library/Preferences/, including any in the ByHost subfolder, log back into the original account, move everything on that other account's list from the original account's Preferences folder into a newly created folder on the Desktop, log out and back in, and see if the problem goes away. If so, you can copy the ones in the Desktop folder (one at time) back into /Preferences/, restart, and see if the problem returns. If so, you've identified the corrupt/conflicting one. Continue with all of them until isolating the bad ones. That'll save you the trouble of resetting preferences.

The second way is much more detailed and I'll not burden you with the steps unless the above doesn't fix the issue.

I had a problem not that long ago and followed these exact instructions - here is what I did to try to speed up the process:

I made a copy of all the plists in the new (working) account and put them in a folder (named "working") on my desktop.

I also created another (empty) folder naming it "exchanged".

I created another (empty) folder naming it "trash".

I opened the plist folder on my account and the "working" folder

I compared the entries side by side and took out every plist that wasn't in the working folder throwing it in the trash folder - except for a couple which I knew I needed because they contained registration information (such as FCE and Aperture - pro apps).

I then compared the left over entries and threw one by one into the exchanged folder, replacing it with the one from the working folder.

Then I crossed my fingers, closed all folders, and restarted.

I opened every app to see if it was working - if it did, I quit it.

It worked!

If it doesn't, you still have all the plist files, they're just temporarily parked in other folders.

I guess I wasn't clear. You make a list of those plist files in the new account, go back to the original account, move those with the same names to a temporary location, log out and back in, and launch the apps that those plist files are associated with. Then, if the problem's fixed, you can put 1/2 back in, log out and back in, and continue in that manner until you isolate the culprits or just reset the preferences and delete the moved items. You certainly don't use the ones from the new account.

You certainly don't use the ones from the new account.

Obviously I misunderstood you at the time and/or I did it the wrong way then - but it worked beautifully. Why would you advise against using the ones from the new account - which obviously work?

Because they have different permissions. When you remove the same ones from the bad account, log out and back in, and relaunch the apps, you get the same default ones as the new account, but with correct permissions.

I'll try one more time.

Log into the new account, where the problem doesn't exist.

Make a list of the new account's plist files.

Log into the original and mucked up account.

Make a new folder on the Desktop.

Move the plist files that are on the new account list from /current username/Library/Preferences/ to the newly created folder.

Restart.

If the problem's gone, then one or more of those moved plist files is the culprit.

Two choices now. Reset all preferences for the apps that are the list or put back half and log out and back in until you isolate the ones causing the issue.